Boisterous Ends Season On High Note
Boisterous wrapped up his 4-year-old campaign on a high note Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack, coming from off the pace and rolling to a two-length victory over Bold Hawk in the 52nd running of the Grade 2, $150,000 Red Smith Handicap.
The victory was the second straight in a graded stakes for the Phipps Stable homebred, coming three weeks after his half-length triumph in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker at Belmont Park.
“I’m tickled to death with his last two races,” said Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, who prior to the Knickerbocker had saddled Boisterous to a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational and a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Man o’ War. “We got off track this summer a little bit, backed up for the Knickerbocker, and I thought he ran really well there. I thought he ran really well today and Alan [Garcia] rode him great. He was a little bit sharp, and I was a little bit afraid of that, but Alan said he settled right in perfectly for him.”
With Garcia aboard for the first time, the Distorted Humor colt settled in midpack as Harrods Creek led the field of seven through an opening quarter-mile in 26.63, a half in 52.56 and a mile in 1:44.56. Gaining steadily on the turn, Boisterous launched his rally on the outside at the top of the stretch and took command with less than a furlong to go.
His winning time for the 1 3/8 miles over a turf course rated “good” was 2:20.26.
“At the three-eighths I asked him a little bit to see what I had. I was watching for the favorite [Grassy] to come to me, but he never showed up and I said ‘This horse is going to win!’” said Garcia of Boisterous, who gave the rider his third victory on the card.
Bold Hawk closed to outkick Harrods Creek for second, with 8-5 favorite Grassy finishing fourth. Radical Sabbatical, Exclusive Strike, and Perfect Footprint completed the order of finish.
The 2-1 second choice, Boisterous returned $6 for a $2 win bet and earned $90,000, extending his bankroll to $365,057. Overall, the dark bay colt is 6-0-1 from 14 lifetime starts, including four wins this year.